Coffe Shop Kids
by xpsychodramaticx
Summary: One summer in Vegas, and six entirely different kids meet by chance. Six misfits, each dealing with their own demons, finding a new kind of comfort in each other- sounds like it could make the perfect fairytale. But JJ can't run forever, Garcia is barely keeping it together and Spencer's mother grows steadily worse... ((Jeid and Morcia implied. rated T for language and themes))


_**A/N: Well hello my friends and readers! So my old friend inspiration has paid me a visit and I'm going to write the Coffee Shop Kids because it was just as in demand as The Invisible King. Also, I've hit a complete brick wall with that fanfic so I'm gonna have two going at once in order to shake off the block. Also, I do not understand the American schooling system at all help me**_

* * *

 _Inhale... relax..._

Lids slid shut over his hazel-brown eyes, small pale hands closed tighter around the coffee mug on the burnished wooden table.

 _Breathe..._

Those same hands began to un-tense, falling into lose fists on the smooth surface, into which the scent of coffee and doughnuts had been so firmly imbued that no amount of washing would ever get it out.

 _Nobody will bother you here._

Spencer's eyes opened, and he leant back in his chair with a deep sigh. The oak groaned beneath him, but it was a comforting sound; one that reassured him every time he came to this little family run coffee shop. The two Italian-Americans that ran it were friendly, an elderly couple who were always glad to see Spencer coming in. It was a mutual thing now, giving Spencer his daily Americano, adding a little biscuit on the side for free, allowing him to hang around a little after closing time. Spencer could almost fit in with the decor, a part of the house. Oh, how he loved this place. It was his refuge, his safe haven away from the exhausting situation back at his house. Before him, a stack of books were waiting to be absorbed by his brilliant brain, and there were also countless leaflets for different colleges. Spencer could remember his teachers telling him that, with his incredible level of intellect, he could get into pretty much any college he wished; this was a prospect that filled him with a slow, seeping horror. High School had been hard enough, he had escaped it long before anyone else, and now he was going to have to make his way as fast as possible through college. Sighing, he ignored the leaflets for the colleges and picked up a book and began to read. A little smile appeared at the side of Spencer's mouth, and he slipped between the words like always.

* * *

Jennifer Jareau jumped off the bus, her blonde hair swinging behind her with a strange air of finality. Her feet slapped the dry pavement, boots thudding down with a solid sureness as a grin split her face. Jennifer's eyes were shining, as all bad memories melted away from the past few weeks. Things at home were rough, but as one thing had begun an avalanche, Jennifer decided she could no longer stick around her mother. Previous attempts to run had failed, but now here she was in Vegas, the famous city that never sleeps. Snapping the strap of her rucksack optimistically, she turned the corner from the bus stop and began to head out for something to eat. Led on by her growling stomach and road-dust thirst, Jennifer started to browse through the streets, all the while keeping one clenched fist in her pocket around a bottle of pepper spray. Even in her elation, she wasn't a stupid girl, and knew better than to let her wits slip in a strange city where there was nobody but strangers to help her. Sights and sounds, so different from her strict home-life, came out as a barrage on her senses all around her. Freedom settled in her heart, which felt glad and her adrenaline levels were buzzing, exhilaration making her feel light-headed. This wouldn't be a story for her future kids-

 _(Your mummy made it all the way to Vegas on her own, just because her mummy was being a cold-hearted bitch)_

 _-_ but something she could always keep to herself. Her mum would no doubt send the police after her, a search party, and then her mother herself bearing down hot on Jennifer's heals with slaps and hugs in equal measure. Even so, for now Jennifer was free, with all of her savings and allowance money in her rucksack and the fact that she was great at talking with people, she currently felt that she could go anywhere.

It was as she continued to walk, weaving in and out amongst the hordes and throngs of people bustling by, that she saw the coffee shop. It was like a peacock in a mass of seagulls, a small family run place; quaint and slightly worn-looking nestled in between two chain stores. Jennifer grinned again, white teeth flashing and blue eyes shining as she crossed the road amongst a group of straggly hippies. As she was jostled- quite roughly- on her way, Jennifer almost stumbled through the door, all at once enveloped in calm and quiet as if the sound was sucked away, to be replaced by soothing Italian music being played quietly from a stand in one corner. There weren't all that many tables- just eight- and they seated three or four people, but only two tables were occupied. At one, an elderly couple were simultaneously absorbed in each other and the newspaper on the wood surface; at another, a young boy was reading quietly by himself, small and slight, slicked-back hair, thick glasses, pushed as far into a corner as he could possibly be without melting into the wall. Jennifer knew the type, the quiet bullied children just seemed to give off that special message. To some, it screamed **kick me** , but to those of a kinder heart, such as the sixteen year-old Miss Jareau, it only whispered the simple message **don't hurt me.**

Taking out a couple of dollars, she ordered a coffee and then moved over the boys table with a gentle step. He looked lonely, and so young, that she just couldn't resist going over and talking to him. She drew out a chair as quietly as she could, but the kid jumped and looked up almost guiltily as she made a small gesture towards the seat.

 _May I sit?_

Confusion darkened his eyes, which seemed unable to stay focused on one object for more than a few seconds, and he nodded mutely. She smiled at him- a smile that could probably melt a heart of stone- and took the seat, and only then did it strike her that this conversation could be hard.

Spencer, meanwhile, finally decided to stare down at her neatly done nails, noticing how the manicure was wearing off, and there were bits of dust under the nails. His mind was working on an extreme over-drive, questioning from every angle why this pretty blonde had chosen to sit with him of all people. Using one slim finger to mark his place, he rested the book on his lap and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. When the girl smiled, his stomach flipped over and a cold sweat burst out across his palms. Memories of the football team luring him with the prettiest girl in school were still fresh in his mind, and he hadn't realised until this moment how gravely that had impacted on his trust of teen girls. However, she seemed so relaxed and so... soft... in her manners, that Spencer slowly found the courage to raise his eyes to her face.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"H-Hey," his voice was little more than a strained whisper, and so he cleared his throat and ducked his head once more, trying again. "I-I mean... Hello, my name is Spencer Reid, it's nice to meet you Miss..." he trailed off, wondering vaguely if his ears were burning at the tips like they did when he became incredibly self-conscious or stressed.

"Jennifer. Jennifer Jareau, it's nice to meet you. What're you doing here alone?" She asked, easily relaxed as she took a sip of coffee, leaning back in her chair and stretching her legs, which were growing cramped and tired.

"Oh, just... reading- and I could ask the same about you, Miss Jennifer," the response slipped out from his mouth, unbidden, and Spencer's eyes widened. Jennifer caught the shock and guilt in his eyes, and laughed it off, although she had to fight the sudden pang of guilt that mirrored Spencer's from showing in her own face. It was true; many people would ask her that same question, and she needed an answer.

"Oh, my parents are staying here for summer break for a few days. I just don't particularly like the thought of visiting any casinos or bars..." an expression of curbed mock-annoyance showed in her face, and Spencer gave a small smile.

"Oh, I'm, um, banned from most casinos," he nodded, re-adjusting his glasses, wrinkling his nose a little and his expression was caught comically between pride and modest embarrassment. Now it was Jennifer's turn to gawp.

" _What?_ Heh, well... that's quite something," she raised her eyebrows, finding herself judging this boy all over again. Oh sure, she had had him down as the nerdy type from the moment she had first laid eyes on him, but now she was seeing him on a whole new level. College leaflets... why would a boy who looked almost ten have those? As she looked at them, Spencer scooped up the leaflets and dumped them in his bag of books, flustered. Already he was mentally beating himself up for scaring away the first person to be really kind to him in a very long while. Real, no-strings-attached kindness, something his own mother could no longer give him- not that Spencer blamed her for that, she was sick, she couldn't care for him...

Jennifer checked her watch, seeing that it was drawing close to five in the evening. She needed a place to stay for the night, and time was fast running out for her to do that. The two elderlies had left, and the lady from behind the till was starting to clean tables and stack up chairs. Part of her wanted to stay for longer, chatting with this boy, but she really did not want to end up sleeping rough like a homeless person on some cardboard. The image presented itself to her with such terrifying clarity that she started up from her chair, shouldering her rucksack and heading for the door in one fluid motion.

"I have to go," she explained quickly, unaware that her words caused Spencer's stomach to drop convulse into little knots of lead-weighted rope. Hurrying towards the door, a simple thought dawned of her, and so she turned back and cast Spencer one her smiles. "But... See you again tomorrow? It was nice chatting, and you really are something..." there was a new shine to her eyes, illuminated from the inside out as she stood with one foot over the threshold. "...Spence," and then she was gone, swallowed up by the crowds outside.

An hour or so later, standing outside his house, a wide smile suddenly split Spencer's face, all lopsided and silly.

 _Spence..._

It sounded sweet, and Jennifer had been the only person in the whole world to deem him special enough to give him a nickname.

* * *

 ** _This will not be a Jeid fanfic as such, but pretty close. And so... yeah, I realised I had this already written so I hope you guys like it! I'm thinking Morgan and Garcia will join next chapter_**


End file.
